Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
THE Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) has approved close to 10,000 job orders in Singapore.
This was announced by Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Sec. Susan “Toots” Ople following the state visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Singapore this week.
“Even prior to the President's visit, our labor office in Singapore had already approved close to 10,000 job orders, with 5,000 jobs awaiting aircraft technicians in the aviation industry,” Ople said.
Approved job orders refer to immediate manpower requirements given by Singaporean employers to the POLO that are expected to be filled in the next few months.
The approved job orders submitted by Singaporean employers are for 5,000 aircraft technicians, 3,000 health care workers, 1,000 skilled workers, 500 workers in the education industry and 300 workers in the IT sector.
Ople said she anticipates a surge in demand for OFWs in Singapore with the success of the President's visit and the reforms being undertaken by the DMW in promoting ease of doing business strategies such as digitalization of various recruitment processes.
“Compared to other countries that also deploy migrant workers, our processing time takes months instead of weeks. But with digitalization and given the remarkable talent and dedication of our workers, we expect a surge in demand for OFWs not only in Singapore but also in other parts of the world,” she noted.
Ople disclosed that the Philippines and Singapore have agreed to hold exploratory talks on the hiring and deployment of nurses, medical professionals and other Filipino health care workers under a government-to-government arrangement.
The agreement is contained in a Joint Communique signed Wednesday by the DMW chief and Singaporean Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
“We acknowledge the recognition given by the Singaporean government to the dedication and professionalism of our health workers, especially at the height of the pandemic,” she said.
She said the appreciation for Filipino nurses and other health professionals as well as OFWs in other job categories was a recurring theme throughout the duration of the state visit of President Marcos in Singapore.
“Our OFWs in Singapore have truly become ambassadors of goodwill,” Ople said.
She and Minister Ong signed the joint communique in the presence of President Marcos and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the high-level talks held at The Istana.
“Singapore provides a good alternative to our health workers who wish to work abroad but in a destination country much nearer to our homeland,” Ople said, adding that the Ministry of Health is interested in discussing training programs and scholarships for Filipino nurses in partnership with Temasek Foundation.
The Singaporean government, meanwhile, expressed appreciation for the decision of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board to remove the performance bond levied against Singaporean recruitment agencies and employers, specifically for domestic workers. This is an offshoot of the Flor Contemplacion case in 1995.
Ople said the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) of Singapore has a good working relationship with the POLO in Singapore.
“There never was an occasion for the POLO to garnish the bond in favor of an aggrieved worker in the past because complaints are promptly handled by the MoM, which strictly monitors its accredited recruitment agencies,” Ople explained.
She added that the POEA issued a circular directing Singapore agencies and employers to pay the bond more than 20 years ago, and said the order was applied only for Singapore.
Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng described the lifting of the performance bond as “Christmas in September” because they have been lobbying for the past 27 years for its removal.
In his bilateral talks with Ople, Tan affirmed the commitment of his ministry and the Singaporean government to protect the rights of all Filipino workers employed in the city-state.
As of December 2021, around 215,155 Filipinos live and work in Singapore. Of these, 180,605 are temporary migrants; 81,272 are domestic workers (45 percent) while the remaining 99,333 (55 percent) belong to the professionals, highly skilled and semi-skilled workers' categories.